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As Padres’ Rivals Fall Away, Postseason Comes Into View

Padres players, from left, Manny Alexander, Geoff Blum, Josh Barfield and Adrian Gonzalez had more than usual to celebrate Sunday: Their victory put them in first place.Credit
Francis Specker/Associated Press

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 18 — The out-of-town scoreboard always seems to hover behind Dave Roberts, begging him to turn around and take a little peek.

Roberts is a left fielder, and since many ballparks keep the out-of-town scoreboard by the left-field fence, stealing a glance should not be a problem. But because Roberts plays for the San Diego Padres, he generally needs more than just a glance. He often has to read up on half the league.

At one time or another in the past month, the Padres were in a race with the Dodgers, the Giants, the Diamondbacks, the Rockies, the Reds, the Cardinals, the Phillies, the Marlins, the Braves and the Astros. A common question in the stands at Petco Park: “Do we want Cincinnati to beat San Francisco, or vice versa?”

Some teams presented more of a threat than others. But the Padres, in contention for the National League West and the wild card, had to hate almost everybody — save the Pirates, the Cubs and the Nationals. It was impossible to go to bed perfectly happy.

On Sunday at Dodger Stadium, when Roberts looked over his shoulder at the out-of-town scoreboard, he was finally able to make some sense of it. “You know what?” he said with a wink. “They’re starting to whittle it down.”

Roberts does not have to concern himself anymore with Arizona or Colorado. Wild-card hopefuls like Cincinnati and Houston look finished. The Padres, who for weeks have clung to a playoff berth with the pine tar on their fingertips, are starting to firm their grip.

The N.L. West race is coming down to the Padres and the Dodgers. The wild-card race is focused on the Padres, the Dodgers and the Phillies. Those three teams are so close that a two-and-a-half-game lead could be considered insurmountable.

After San Diego beat the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon, moving into first place for the first time since early August, outfielder Brian Giles sounded like a football player preparing for the final snaps of the season. “We control our own destiny,” he said.

The National League is such that the Padres could win a division with Geoff Blum and Russell Branyan making up the left side of their infield. Blum, a backup third baseman, is starting at shortstop. Branyan, a backup outfielder, is starting at third base.

Entering Monday night, San Diego did not have a player with more than 22 home runs or 75 runs batted in. Only one of their opening-day starters was batting over .300, and it was Roberts at .301. (After Monday’s hard-to-believe defeat, the Dodgers regained the West lead by half a game, and the Padres led the Phillies in the wild-card race by a game and a half.)

This is a popular conversation starter in the Padres’ clubhouse — comparing San Diego’s mellow vibe with the manic hothouses of New York and Boston, where many players on the current roster were plucked. Red Sox West, as one clique calls itself, consists of Roberts, David Wells, Alan Embree, Rudy Seanez, Mark Bellhorn, Josh Bard and Cla Meredith. All of them were deemed expendable in Boston.

Bard was traded to San Diego mainly because he could not catch Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball. Meredith was added to the deal mainly because of three subpar relief outings. In return, the Padres had to give up only Doug Mirabelli, a reserve catcher.

No trade this season was more lopsided. Mirabelli is batting .183 and has not even caught many knuckleballs, because of Wakefield’s injuries. Meanwhile, Bard is batting .314, and Meredith built a stretch of 33 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

“Mirabelli did not fit in here personality-wise,” said Kevin Towers, the Padres’ general manager. “When he left, he told some of our players, ‘I’m going back to the big leagues.’ If we get to the postseason and they don’t, it will make that trade even sweeter.”

The Red Sox and the Padres are uniquely intertwined. Theo Epstein, the Red Sox’ general manager, used to work for the Padres. Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox’ president, used to be president of the Padres. Tom Werner, one of the Red Sox’ owners, used to be one of the Padres’ owners. Several other executives moved from San Diego to Boston.

But Towers stayed behind, and now it will be difficult to force him out. Although Sandy Alderson, himself a former general manager, looms as the club’s chief executive, Towers won some extra security by fleecing the Red Sox.

For the past 11 years in San Diego, Towers has been the general manager, Bruce Bochy has been the manager, and Trevor Hoffman has been saving games in addition to jobs. His 475th save, notched Sunday, brought him within three of Lee Smith’s major league record.

During the middle innings, Hoffman lounged inside the Padres’ clubhouse, absorbing the air-conditioning and listening to Vin Scully’s broadcast, like much of Southern California. He let Scully’s famous voice fire him up, as if it were a classic AC/DC album.

The Padres are rarely so polite in their dealings with the Dodgers. Fueled by a little-brother complex that has spanned generations, the Padres treat their games against the Dodgers the same way the Dodgers approach their showdowns with the Giants. As Padres starter Jake Peavy walked to the dugout in the middle of the first inning Monday night, he got into a shouting match with Mariano Duncan, the Dodgers’ first-base coach. Both benches cleared, and Peavy had to be restrained.

Should San Diego reach the playoffs, no one in the National League will be intimidated. Branyan and Blum do not exactly remind pitchers of Carlos Beltrán or Albert Pujols. This club was built in a relatively unglamorous way, around its bullpen.

But in October, when scores are lower and the games are tighter, the Padres would seem to be an annoying matchup. If they face the Mets, for instance, Peavy could start Game 1 at Shea Stadium, followed by Wells, both of them caught by the former Met Mike Piazza.

Playing pest would be a switch. Opponents have been buzzing around the Padres’ noses for weeks, trying to distract them from the field and separate them from the wild-card lead. Only now is it safe for Roberts to turn and gaze at that scoreboard behind him.

He is running out of teams to root against.

A version of this article appears in print on , on page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: As Padres’ Rivals Fall Away, Postseason Comes Into View. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe